Someone posted this awhile back. My hard drive
bit the dust so I need to disable them on the new drive.The pop up are driving me nuts.

Here's how it is in XP; I don't have a w2k system to play with right now:

Start->Control_Panel->Administrative_Tools->Services.

Double click on the "Messenger" service and change the "Startup" option to "Disabled".  Click "Stop".

Well, I've done just that, but still get the stupid "Windows Messenger" icon in the system tray.  Apparently it's a "tell me 12,000 times or more" fail-safe feature on the disable.

The VERY easiest way is to simply rename the 'messenger' folder in c:\program files\. You can delete it or rename it. When you reboot, presto!, no MSN messenger. I believe this is the messenger you are talking about.


ByteTheBullet  (-:

Thank you

It sounds like you acheived your objective however somwhere there is probably an error indicating that MS Messenger could not start.

The first suggestion in this thread was to disable the messenger service. This service allows for pop-up messages to appear and is different than MS Messenger. It was intended for use by network admins but is now used primarily by advertisers.

MS Messenger can be disabled by double clicking the little green man, selecting Tools, Options, preferences and deselect "Run this program when windows starts".

Easy.

Hit START, select RUN, and type in MSCONFIG and hit enter.

You'll be in the Windows configuration editor.

Click on the SERVICES tab, find Messenger, and deselect it.  

Apply, OK, and exit.


To make your computer run faster,  you can also use this to disable any unwanted services, too.

If you're not really sure what's necessary and what isn't,  you can selectively disable a couple of services at a time (make a note of which ones) and then run your computer through its paces with all the software you normally use, on and off the internet.   If everything still works properly, your machine doesn't really need the services you disabled.

Look around in MSCONFIG for a while.  You'll see a lot of stuff in there that you probably don't want or need.

CJ